The Partners in Ooma's Cabin
by forensicsfan
Summary: Booth and Brennan get snowed in while investigating a crime.  A whole new spin on cabin fever.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them and I don't profit from them.

**Author's Note:** This story is for the birthday twins from opposite sides of the world. They know who they are.

* * *

The snow had been falling for hours, effectively putting a damper on doing any further investigation of the crime scene and prohibiting Booth and Brennan from following the evidence that they'd instructed local law enforcement to send back to the Jeffersonian. For the time being, the partners were stuck in what Booth was inwardly referring to as the inner circle of Hell.

It wasn't that the Appalachians weren't beautiful this time of year. They were. His feelings of Hell were directly related to the fact that he'd recently been dumped by one Hannah Burley in favor of an old flame that she'd referred to her as her destiny and the fact that his feelings for his partner that he'd thought he'd gotten over and moved passed had reared their ugly head and he wasn't sure what, if anything, to do about it. To say that he was unpleasant to be around was an understatement. And now here he was stuck in a picturesque Norman Rockwell inspired town with said partner where he was going to have to hole up for at least a day or two in the last known accommodations since this blizzard had zoomed in and stranded them. Unless he wanted to sit outside and slowly freeze to death he was going to have to spend some quality time alone with Bones.

"For a cabin, this is certainly well apportioned." Brennan calmly smiled at her partner and noticed the slight tick of his jaw indicating that he was more than a little tense. "Don't worry, Booth, I'm sure that in a day or two the roads will be plowed and we'll be able to get back to DC." She was certainly anxious to get working on the case, but was at least glad that they would be able to instruct the squinterns remotely via a satellite web link in their absence.

Booth snorted and realized that he was going to have to make the best of the situation and there was no reason why he had to start out acting like an ass. This was Bones he was stuck with after all and the inner circle of Hell was all his, it certainly wasn't her fault that he was feeling so surly. "I'd hardly call this a cabin. More like a weekend retreat on the lake maybe." In his mind cabins evoked images of no heat or running water. This cabin wasn't large, but it had a furnace and a wood stove and a modern kitchen and bathroom and it sat right on a lake that appeared as if it would be an ideal fishing location when it was warm outside. The only thing it really lacked as far as he could see was a television and a second bedroom by the door count. Just great, it looked like he was going to be making friends with the damn couch for the duration.

"I'm just glad that there aren't any moose heads looming over us." The last thing she found appealing in rustic décor was the severed heads of wild animals stuffed and mounted so they could be displayed on a wall somewhere. Surely they were better used by the animal.

"Either Sheriff Benson's a really bad shot or his wife just won't let him have trophies." The sheriff had seemed like a real man's man, but given the feminine touches throughout the cabin, he was betting that the guy was as beat as a rug on cleaning day and he appeared to like it.

Brennan snuffed out her nose in amusement. "I'm sure he's an excellent shot." Logically, if he was a poor shot, he wouldn't have had a very long career in law enforcement and from what they'd garnered in the short time they'd interacted with him and the deputies under him, he had received a number of commendations for meritorious service.

Booth clapped his hands together and glanced over at Bones. "So, let's see what we've got in those bags of groceries." The sheriff's wife had been nice enough to go pick up a couple of days worth of food since the cabin was just outside of town and not within walking distance of either the grocery store or a restaurant. The four wheel drive on Booth's FBI issued SUV was enough to get them to the cabin, but not back to DC, especially when the highways were being closed.

She was closer to the bags that had been left on the counter and she began pulling the items out and then smirked. "It appears that we'll be enjoying spaghetti." Along with the pasta and sauce, was some French bread, a box of corn flakes, some bananas that had no doubt been grown in Central America, and a note indicating that there were a few more items tucked away in the refrigerator.

After a long day of investigating the case that had brought them all the way out here, they'd both developed quite an appetite and so working as seamlessly as they did in the field, dinner was made in very short order. Steaming plates of pasta, a nice salad, some garlic bread, and a bottle of red wine uncorked to breathe had been placed on the table. Now all they needed to do was sit down, unwind and enjoy each other's company. Something that they really hadn't had a chance to do since before they'd gone to different parts of the globe and Booth had trekked home with Hannah in his heart.

Booth eased into his chair and began pouring wine into the glasses as Bones brought in the silverware and napkins that they'd nearly forgotten. He glanced up at her and smiled, trying to cover up his inner turmoil about the feelings churning in his inner Hell. "Apparently Mrs. Benson thought of everything." And if his gut was honing in on the intentions of Mrs. Benson, he'd bet that she had thought of far more than he was planning on while he was stuck here with Bones, if the cheesecake and chocolate covered strawberries in the refrigerator were any indication.

"We should be sure to thank her." The sheriff and his wife certainly weren't obligated to offer their personal cabin or provide groceries; however, she was glad that they had. When she'd inquired at the local hotel about accommodations, she'd been informed that with the snow they were already looking for creative ways to find places for stranded travelers to stay and the best they could do was a couple of sleeping bags in the lobby. The sheriff had overhead her conversation and had insisted that he had a perfectly good cabin that wasn't being used and insisted that she and Booth take it. With nothing else to choose from, they didn't really have any choice. It had been some time since she'd spent any extended time alone with Booth that wasn't case related.

A forkful of pasta went into his mouth and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips. "Mmm, this is good." It really wasn't the best spaghetti he'd ever had in his life, but given the day, the weather, and the company, it was certainly helping to change his attitude.

"The lycopene in the tomato sauce is good for helping to prevent different types of cancers, including prostate cancer." She pushed a forkful of pasta into her own mouth and smiled back at him.

"I'm sure my prostate is just fine thank you." Leave it to Bones to bring up things that really weren't appropriate dinner conversation. He smirked as an idea formed in his mind. "Besides, it's not like I can run right out an get a manogram just to give you a little peace of mind."

"What?" She looked at him oddly. "I don't know what that means." She'd never heard of a manogram and she was quite familiar with the names of medical procedures. From the look on his face she suspected she was making it up. "There's no such thing is there?"

He snorted. "Thank God." Another forkful of pasta made its way into his mouth.

A realization dawned on Brennan and her eyebrows shot up and then she let out a snicker. "Oh, I get it, a manogram is like a mamogram but for your..."

Booth cut her off. "Let's just change the subject, okay?" Just in case she was going to say that word, he gave her one of those looks.

"Because that would definitely be unpleasant. If that were an actual procedure, you couldn't handle it." She seemed very confident and speared a bit of her salad before popping into her mouth.

He protested. "Hey, I could handle it." He was Special Agent Seeley Booth and he was no wimp.

She shook her head. "No, you couldn't."

"Yes, I could." He leaned in and pointed at her with his fork.

"It's your weak point." She knew what she was saying was completely true, otherwise, why in the world had the jock strap been invented.

"Hey, I am not weak...especially there." He had half a mind to show her just how not weak he was, that is if he had half an ounce of courage when it came to Bones. He had only recently been dumped by Hannah and he was feeling a little gun shy when it came to head strong women.


	2. Chapter 2

"That snow doesn't show any signs of letting up out there." Booth shook a bit of snow from his head as he kicked the door shut with his foot and brought in an armload of firewood that he'd retrieved from a small shed on the other side of the driveway. With the way the snow was blowing around out there, he thought it was a good idea to bring in some extra wood in case the power conked out and they needed to use the wood stove to heat the place.

"Well given the weather radar, it probably won't stop at least until morning." Brennan gestured towards her laptop. She had been checking on the weather and sending some emails to let the team at the Jeffersonian know what was going on, not really all that surprised when she received a response from Cam that DC was in very much the same circumstances.

"I suppose it could be worse." He walked carefully dumped the firewood onto the floor and then began placing it into a niche that had been built into the wall next to the stove for just such a purpose. He glanced over at Bones who seemed intent on getting as much work done as possible. "You know we're not going to be able to make much progress on the case until the squints get the stuff we sent them." And it was a good thing that they'd sent the evidence and the remains back to DC with an FBI tech hours before the storm had really gotten going, hopefully the poor sap hadn't gotten stuck in the storm.

"Cam said that everything arrived, but it isn't very likely that anyone is going to be able to get in tomorrow, so we shouldn't have our hopes too high. Although with the Metro, I'm not sure why they couldn't at least try." Brennan would have enjoyed the relative quiet that a snowstorm assaulting DC would have given, the only real sound that of the crunching of snow under her boots. But of course, she lived close enough that she could walk.

"And knowing the squints they'll probably try, but Cam was just making sure we weren't expecting it, okay?" He offered up one of his best smiles and tried to think of a way to get her away from her laptop and away from work for at least a little while.

Her brow furrowed as she jiggled the air card in her laptop. "I appear to have lost connectivity." The storm must be intensifying and so with a sigh, she closed the laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of her, glancing over at Booth who was over by the door again.

"I'm going to go grab one more load of firewood, just in case." He hooked his thumb towards the outdoors before slipping out the door.

She pulled herself off of the couch and wandered over to a bookshelves that lined the far wall in hopes would hold something of interest to read to pass the time.

A few minutes later, Booth returned, kicking the door shut again and carrying the wood over to the stove and stowing it away in the same manner he had the previous load. He dusted his hands off on his jeans and noticed that Bones had found a book to read. He wandered over to the bookshelves near where she was standing. "Anything good over here?"

Brennan had a smirk on her face as she held up a book she'd found somewhere in between Bronte and Shakespeare while perusing the selections on the shelves. "It appears as if the sheriff and his wife appreciate the classics _and_ enjoy a very active sex life."

"_Tantric Twister and Other Ways to Spice up your Love Life_?" Booth wanted to crawl under a rock at the thought that every surface in that cabin was now fair game for whatever Sheriff Benson and his wife did while they were out here. He wasn't sure whether to be impressed or want to douse the place with hand sanitizer.

She flipped the book open and began thumbing through the pages, quirking an eyebrow as she found something that caught her interest.

"Bones, put that back." He was very insistent. She did not need to be reading about all the creative ways to make Twister erotic while she was sharing space with him. The mere thought of that book in her hands was enough to make him wonder if he was ever going to catch up on confession. When she didn't listen to him, he reached over and plucked the book out of her hands and put it right back where she'd gotten it.

"What? I found it very informative." She was tempted to reach for the book again, but then she caught the look on his face and wondered if perhaps if his claim that he'd moved on was really true. Maybe there was still a chance that they might get their moment.

Booth noticed a shelf with games and quickly made a grab for the first thing he could reach. He held up a deck of cards. "Why don't we play with these?" Any game of cards was going to be a thousand times safer than that book in her hands.

"Are we playing for money?" She wanted to make sure he didn't have poker or some other game of chance in mind, given his past, but a game of cards might pass the time in a pleasing manner.

"No, we're not playing for money." He rolled his eyes and gestured towards the table they'd just cleared after eating dinner. "I was thinking more along the lines of Rummy or War…the kind of game Parker likes to play."

She smiled. "I am very good at war. The card game war. Since I have never been a soldier I have no experience in actual war." She reasoned that he was probably skilled at both.

"I know that, Bones." Was he really up to playing cards, he wasn't so sure. He glanced at the shelf to see what other options were available.

"I am fairly confident that I will best you." She looked smug and was looking forward to showing him just how skilled she was at the card game. "Is that considered garbage talking?"

"Trash talking, Bones, and on second thought, why don't we just play checkers." Booth thought that a simple game of checkers would be far less complicated to play with Bones than it appeared that cards would be. He was wrong.

"The history of checkers can be traced to the very cradle of civilization, where vestiges of the earliest form of the game was unearthed in an archeological dig in the ancient city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia, which is now modern day Iraq. It's one of the oldest games known to man." And given its anthropological significance she thought that this was an even better choice than playing cards.

"Well right here in the good ole USA, it's just fun." One more squinty comment and he was going to insist on Monopoly.

"I can be very fun." She smiled at him and followed him back over to the couch where he began setting up the game of checkers. She wasn't about to tell him that she had done extensive research into the game during her undergraduate studies and was something of a championship player among the other science majors.


	3. Chapter 3

"Bones, is that even legal?" Booth looked at his partner with an expression that clearly implied that he thought she cheated.

"You kinged me, therefore, I can legally jump multiple pieces. I'm sorry if that ended the game sooner than you had anticipated." She looked smug and not at all sorry. Her advanced checkers skills had certainly come in handy.

"Well this isn't any fun." He was ready to sink right back into a funk and sulk for the rest of the night. If he couldn't stand a chance against her in a child's game, then he wasn't sure he wanted to play a game at all.

"I had fun." She smirked and moved to set the game up again. "You can go first this time." It was only fair since she had bested him.

"Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Maybe we should play something else so I have a fighting chance."

"Just because you're an injured loser is no reason not to engage in game play again." She had rather enjoyed being able to plan out several moves ahead since it seemed that Booth was a rather predictable player.

"It's 'sore loser', Bones and you beat me five times in a row. I'd hardly call that being a sore loser." Playing cards, or Monopoly, or even Clue seemed like a better option at this point. He glanced over at the shelf where he'd found the cards and checkers to see what other options they might have. He winced when he noticed Twister screaming at his eyes. He blinked hard and then focused until he found something far less dangerous and jumped up from the couch and made his way over to the shelf. "Jenga it is."

"Sikuweza kutambua wewe alizungumza Kiswahili." She looked at him with admiration at how well rounded he was.

"What?" He looked at her as if she'd just grown a fig tree out of her head.

Her brows furrowed as she realized that he hadn't understood a word she said. "I said 'I didn't realize you spoke Swahili' in Swahili." Clearly she had been mistaken.

"No, it's the name of the game." He reached for the box and held it up. "I don't actually speak Swahili."

"Oh, it's a natural misunderstanding. The word jenga is the imperative form of kujenga, the Swahili verb 'to build'. 'Jenga' itself means 'build' in Swahili." She smiled as he sank back down on the couch next to her.

"A natural mistake of course. What was I thinking?" He tried to keep the sarcasm in his voice to a minimum. Did she realize how frustratingly squinty she was at times?

"I would presume given the shape of the little wooden blocks that we're supposed to build something." That could certainly be a challenge, though not as challenging as building a house out of decks of cards.

"Building isn't really the point. You take a piece out and put it on top and try and get it as tall as possible without it falling over." He carefully slid the blocks out of the box in formation to set up the game.

"Ah." She still wasn't completely sure what the challenge was. Surely if they carefully considered the basic physics of the blocks versus gravity they could come up with the best solution.

"You go first." He smiled at her.

"Oh, so this isn't a team game then." That made far more sense and certainly lent itself to Booth's competitive nature.

"Who else would we be playing?" Seriously, she was a genius, but at times, she was as clueless as Rainman.

"Good point." She reached over and plucked a block off the top layer and simply lay it on top of the others. "This doesn't really seem that hard."

He snorted out a huff and then reached for a piece much closer to the bottom. "That's because you're not looking for the challenge." Successfully sliding the piece out, he triumphantly lay it next to the one she had.

"Oh, I see." She carefully slid one from the base and then placed it on top of the other two. "Setting up your opponent to topple is the point."

Before Booth could make a witty comment or make his next move, the entire cabin went dark.

They were silent for a long moment and then Brennan's logic broke through. "The darkness will definitely increase the factor of difficulty." She considered briefly that if Booth were to attempt his turn, she would most like win the game.

"The power is out and we've got a blizzard outside and you're worried about the factor of difficulty in the game." Booth snorted out a laugh. "I think we'd better get a fire in that stove in case the power doesn't come back on." The wind could be heard swirling around outside and with the snow still coming down, he was sure that no one was going to be interested in repairing power lines at least until morning.

"Shouldn't we find some candles?" She had noticed some in a drawer in the kitchen, but without even a flashlight they were going to have to fumble their way in the dark. She moved to get off the couch and bumped right into Booth who seemed to have the same idea.

"Whoa there, Bones." Booth reached out to steady here, only he was sure that wasn't her arm and he quickly let go. "Okay, I'm going to go this way and you go that way."

"I can't see where you're pointing." She could tell he was standing very close by the body heat radiating towards her, but it was so dark she couldn't see him.

"Oh, wait, hold on." A soft rustling sound, followed by a gentle metal click, and then a small flicker of flame as his Zippo lighter came to life. He smiled. "There we go."

"I think we're going to need more light than that." She smirked at him, glad that he had a habit of carrying a lighter in his pocket even though he didn't smoke.

"Funny, Bones." He smirked back.

"Are you calling me a humerus?" She was rather amused with herself. "Because it is commonly referred to as the funny bone. Also, I'm Bones, and I'm funny."

"You just keep telling yourself that." He snorted out a laugh. "I'm going to light us a fire." He turned and made his way around the coffee table to where he stowed away all that firewood. He really did not need to be standing really close to Bones stuck in a cabin during a power outage in the middle of a blizzard unless he was rethinking that whole concept of moving on.

"I could help. I am very good at lighting fires." She had certainly roughed it enough to be very familiar with the mechanics of sparking a flame. She followed right after him, nearly running into him again when he stopped abruptly.

Of course she was good at lighting fires, he was finding that she was starting to stoke his up without even trying. "I got this." He glanced over and realized that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Why don't you hand me some wood and we'll get this fire going in no time." He set his lighter up on top of the wood stove to give them some semblance of light.

"What are you going to use for kindling?" Brennan leaned in towards him a little closer as she passed him the first log, not really paying attention to how close since it was so dark.

"Uh, there are newspapers right next to the wood, Bones." Did she have to smell so good? He squinched his eyes shut and took a deep breath then and started stacking the pieces on each other as she handed them to him. A little crumpled newspaper and he was certain that the fire would jump to life with a single flame. Before he could reach for his lighter and get the fire going someone else beat him to it.

She was crouched down right next to him smiling broadly and admiring the flames bringing the fire to life, thankful that if she'd had to get stuck in a storm with someone that she'd gotten stuck with him. "We built a very good fire."

"Yeah, great." Booth groaned inwardly and wondered if she had any clue what she was doing to him. He cleared his throat. "Now about those candles..." The sooner they got more light in the room the better off he was going to be.


	4. Chapter 4

Once the fire was lit in the stove, there was just enough of a glow coming through the door to fumble around the cabin in search of candles or something else to provide some more light. A few strategically placed oil lamps found hanging on the walls seemed to indicate that power outages were not an uncommon occurrence and with them lit there was a soft cozy feel to the cabin.

Booth was entirely uncomfortable and if he could have found a good reason to go out into a blizzard in the middle of a power outage, he would have. Problem was, there was no good reason and instead, here he was hunkered down with his partner trying to resume a stupid child's game when all he really wanted to do was pin her to the couch and kiss her senseless. He was definitely going to lose his mind before the night was out.

Brennan glanced up at him with a smirk. The Jenga tower was getting precariously tall and she was sure that with her next move, he was going to have an incredibly hard time being able to complete his turn. She carefully slid the wood block into place and tried to sound nonchalant. "I believe that you may be in danger of toppling the tower."

He snorted at her, both in frustration of the thoughts swirling through his head and at the gauntlet that she'd thrown down that he couldn't resist challenging. "No way. I am very skilled at this game." She had bested him five times in checkers, but this game was more his speed. He had spent hours playing it with Parker and he'd gotten to know how far he could push the limits. Surely there was at least enough stability for one more move in his favor.

"The piece down here isn't going to be able to provide adequate support for additional height." It was basic physics really and you couldn't beak the laws of physics.

He confidently pulled a piece from one of the lower levels and placed it on top of the piece she had just put on the tower. It wobbled briefly, but then stabilized and a wicked grin spread across his face. "Your turn, Bones."

Her eyes widened just a bit and she carefully considered which piece to pull out. Her brow furrowed as she made her selection and she carefully began to slide it out, hoping that just this once, physics would look the other way. The clattering of the falling pieces moments later told another story.

"Yeah, look at that. I _finally_ won something." He was rather pleased with himself and he glanced at the clock on the wall that was slowly ticking off the seconds and realized just how late it was getting to be. At some point they were going to have to figure out the sleeping arrangements and somehow he was sure that with one bedroom in the whole damn place that the options were going to be very limited, especially now that the power was out and the only source of heat in the cabin was coming from the wood stove.

"You have very good manual dexterity." She smiled at him and leaned in closer, speaking conspiratorially as she gestured to the pile of blocks now in disarray. "I am actually surprised that it took so long to fall. With the center of gravity down here, I would have expected them to fall sooner."

His ego puffed up a little and leaned in closer than he should have. "Well, that's just because of the Seeley Booth touch." He snorted out a laugh as she seemed to think about that for just a moment and then rolled her eyes at him as she caught on.

"We can play again." She began to gather the pieces to set the game up again and stopped when she felt his hand on her arm. "What?" There was something there in his eyes that made her proverbial heart flip with anticipation.

He cleared his throat, but didn't glance away. "Maybe we should think about getting a little sleep." He didn't bring up the thoughts scrolling through his mind about the one bedroom, the one bed he'd spotted in there when he'd first sized up the cabin, or about the fact that the room was probably freezing cold.

Brennan glanced at the clock and then back at Booth. "I suppose it is getting late." She didn't move, but just sat there looking at him, feeling he corners of her mouth twitch up into a smile.

"There's only one bed." Here he was just plowing ahead. "So I can take the couch if you want." It was only right that Bones got the bed and a nice firm door between them so he couldn't embarrass himself in his sleep.

"Or I could take the couch and you could take the bed. You're the one with the bad back. I would hate for you to develop lumbar issues from sleeping on the couch." Besides, she wasn't entirely sure how much sleep she was going to get with him in the other room. Since Hannah had dumped him, her own feelings had seemed to intensify and she wasn't sure that compartmentalization was even possible anymore.

"I'm sure I'll be fine on the couch. Besides, this one is a lot firmer than mine. You take the bed." He didn't want to argue with her about this all night or he might just have to kiss her to shut her up, what with the way he didn't seem to be able to stop looking into those eyes of hers.

"If you insist." Not that she was necessarily one to acquiesce, but in the interest of not doing something she might regret that would result in harm coming to their partnership, she decided that it was the prudent thing to do.

"I do." He smiled, finding that she did the same as neither of them made a move to leave the couch. He blinked and cleared his throat. "Insist that is, I insist that you take the bed."

"I assume that you'll need some bedding." It was clear to her that there wasn't any in the main part of the cabin, so logically they would need to find some in the bedroom.

"Of course." He made himself stand up so he could look at something other than Bones for a moment. "Unless this is a fold out couch, then maybe there's bedding in there." He pointed to where he'd just been sitting as Bones stood up.

"We should check then." Her smile was illuminated in the soft light flickering from the lanterns.

"Right." Booth turned and pulled up the cushions and then immediately replaced them. "Nope, looks like a regular couch to me." It would have been far easier if it had been a pull out couch, it would mean that he'd have no reason to go walking into that bedroom with Bones.

"Well, then let's find some extra bedding." She lifted the closest lantern off its hook and made her way into the bedroom. A cursory glance around the room revealed a small closet and as she stepped further into the room to see what was inside, a frigid breeze blew. "Booth?"

He was right behind her. "Yeah, Bones." He looked over to where she gestured with the lantern to see a baseball sized hole in the lone window. The wind was still blowing snow into the room through the hole and what was already there had created a nice puddle on the floor. He felt immediately protective and turned to look into her eyes. "You're not sleeping in here."

"Well neither are you." She didn't hesitate in her answer as she challenged right back, she knew him well enough that she knew he'd bring it up.

"Well then what do you suggest, genius?" His tone was slightly sarcastic and he was becoming even more frustrated than he had been before.

"Thank you, I _am_ a genius." She smiled at his compliment. "We'll just gather up all the bedding from in here and camp out by the wood stove." She anticipated that he'd insist she take the couch and she'd insist that he should and so it was only logical that she suggest a reasonable compromise and have them both take the floor.

"Camping in the living room." He was most definitely in trouble and he only hoped that she wasn't a cuddler because he wasn't sure he could resist temptation if she was.


	5. Chapter 5

"It appears that the window has been an issue for some time." Brennan carried an armful of pillows out to the main living area of the cabin as Booth followed behind with his own arms full. There had been a small piece of plywood on the floor directly below where the hole in the window was and they concluded that it had been very poorly affixed to the window frame in an attempt to keep rodents and weather out.

"That's pretty obvious." Booth snorted out a laugh as he plopped a couple of comforters onto the couch and turned to go back for more bedding. The plywood appeared to have dislodged some time ago given the array of leaves strewn across it and the pile of snow that had blow on top of it. Clearly the Sheriff and his wife didn't come out here very often in the winter, or didn't care how cold it got.

She turned to follow him back into the bedroom, and stopped directly behind him as he raided the closet of the last of the bedding.

He turned around and nearly dropped everything in his arms because she startled him.

Brennan smiled. "I can take some of that."

"Bones, I think I've got it." He was not going to admit that he hadn't even heard her until he turned and she was right there, standing way too close.

"Okay, I'll just grab the lantern then." She grabbed the light from the small table they'd set it on when they had first gone into the room. Since neither of them planned to sleep in there, they could use the light in the other room.

He stepped around her and headed back out into the main part of the cabin.

She followed and shut the door firmly behind her, placing the lantern back on the hook she'd taken it off of. "I think we'll be very cozy out here."

Booth glanced up, trying to keep the stricken expression from reaching his face. Cozy? Did she say cozy? The woman was going to kill him with all this talk of cozy comforters and cozy atmosphere. What happened to the rational scientist who didn't get into warm cozy feeling? "Uh, yeah."

They set about quietly creating two makeshift beds out of the pile of bedding, the sound of the logs popping in the fire and the swirling of the wind outside the only noise for a few minutes.

"There." She rested her hands on her hips and admired their handiwork. "I have certainly had more rustic accommodations, so I am sure that we will enjoy both adequate comfort and warmth." A glance at her partner and she felt a pang of something that she couldn't quite push all the way down. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep on the couch? I am concerned that your lower lumbar region will be adversely affected."

"My lower lumbar region will be just fine." In fact the floor would probably be far more optimal than any couch that might end up being too soft. "Of course if you wanted the couch, I wouldn't object." At least the couch would get her a few more inches further away from him while they slept and there was no danger of an accidental cuddle.

"I find that the idea of camping on the floor is acceptable." And really, why should she be so comfortable when he was endangering his back?

"Fine." Booth plastered on a smile and looked at her again. "I guess we should just go to sleep then." Any more of this chit chat and he wasn't so sure he wasn't just going to grab her, pull her into his arms and kiss her until neither one of them could breathe. But he was sure that since they'd finally gotten back to that equilibrium of just partners that blurting out his feelings would only throw things wildly off center again. He didn't think he could handle the torture if she brushed him off again.

"An excellent idea. I think I will just get ready then." She turned and found her bag, zipped it open and began pulling things out so she could get ready for bed.

Booth didn't even want to look at whatever it was she was rummaging through, one glimpse of underwear at this point and he wasn't sure he could be responsible for his actions. "I should do that too."

"I won't be very long." She gathered her things and headed into the lone bathroom along with a lantern to get ready for bed.

"Okay. I'll just be here." He wanted to smack himself in the forehead. Could he sound any more like a guy who was just sitting here waiting to bed his woman, at least in his own head?

True to her word, Brennan hadn't taken long at all. She'd simply brushed her teeth and changed into some pajama pants and a camisole with a sweatshirt thrown over the top. She smiled at him as she came back out and gestured towards the doorway to the bathroom. "Your turn."

"Thanks." He couldn't disappear fast enough, but as the bathroom door closed behind him, he deliberately slowed his pace. Maybe if he took long enough, Bones would already be asleep when he came out. His dentist would have been proud of the way he took great care brushing each and every tooth and then flossed twice just to be sure he'd gotten every particle of stray food and plaque. He'd even gargled with mouthwash to be sure to get at those hard to reach places. Once he'd slipped into a t-shirt and pajama pants and couldn't justify any more attention to his dental health, he opened the door and slipped out of the bathroom. The cabin was mostly dark now. Bones had apparently blown out all but one of the lanterns so he could find his way to bed. And he only hoped as he blew out the last one and then slipped into his makeshift bed that she would already be sound asleep. He shifted around a bit until he felt comfortable enough and felt a smile spread across his face as he heard the even breathing of his partner that assured him that she was asleep.

The sound of her voice in the darkness said otherwise.

"Booth?" Brennan just couldn't get something out of her mind and she knew she was going to have difficulty sleeping until she shared it with him.

"Yeah, Bones?" He tried to sound as normal as possible, even though he was finding that his panic level was ramping up, what with being this close to her and both of them being awake.

"Do you think that the universe gives second chances?" There was a vulnerability in her voice that she couldn't hide.

"What?" Had he heard her correctly? He was immediately feeling his heart race at where this might be going.

"Second chances. Do you think that the universe gives second chances?" She really wanted to know his thoughts on the matter.

"Well I certainly believe that God gives second chances. That's sort of his whole thing." He was praying that he wouldn't start hyperventilating.

She considered that for a moment. "Well then, what if God, if I believed in him, or the universe was using this storm and us getting stranded in this cabin for a second chance?" She let her words hang out there for a moment to see what he might say.

He rolled onto his side towards her voice. "What kind of second chance?" His heart was thudding wildly in his chest.

She felt a vulnerability that she'd never experienced before as she answered him softly but confidently. "What if it's a second chance for us to try and be together?"


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't do this, Bones." Booth's voice was filled with emotion, which was magnified in the darkness. His heart had been beat up, stepped on, and cast aside and he was afraid to step into the arena of love again.

There was a hitch in Brennan's voice as she desperately tried to compartmentalize. "I understand...I missed my chance." If it were possible, she felt her heart physically crushing.

"Let me finish." He reached out and found her hand. Not that there was anywhere for her to run except out into a blizzard, but he wasn't going to take any chances. "I can't do this unless you mean this with all of your heart." He used to be the heart person, but he had seen so much growth in hers that she was practically wearing it on her sleeve, overshadowing that super brain of hers.

"So you _do_ want a second chance?" She needed him to say it. She'd been brave enough to suggest that their circumstance was the universe yelling at them to pay attention, but she needed Seeley Booth to use his words and articulate exactly what _he_ wanted.

There was no hesitation in his voice. "Oh, yes, second, third, fourth chances, whatever you'll give me." He swallowed hard. "Do you?" She was a super squinty genius after all, and it was just as likely that she was simply making an observation as opposed to a profound confession.

She squeezed his hand. "More than anything." The heart that just moments before had felt like it had been crushed now felt like it was flying out of her chest. Tears pricked her eyes at the overwhelming emotion that what she thought she had lost had been restored to her.

Booth fumbled in the dark and scooted closer to her. "I want to kiss you, Bones, I want to kiss you so much." The truth was he wanted to do so much more than just kiss her, but he didn't want his head to explode before he could get there. They had gotten to this point step by agonizingly slow step and he wasn't going to rush any faster than she could handle.

"What are you waiting for?" There was an impish tone in her voice as her fingers gripped the front of his t-shirt and pulled him in to close the distance between them.

Her lips were soft and strong and demanding and Booth found his fingers tangling in her hair as he kissed her the way he'd wanted to kiss her for a very long time. Any thought of the storm raging outside or the power that had failed were completely unimportant because he was kissing Bones and she wanted them to take a chance.

When they finally pulled apart, Brennan let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." The truth was, once she'd come to the conclusion about how she felt about Booth while she was on Maluku, she couldn't bring herself to entertain a future, or even a passing evening with any other man. Kissing him was like having a dam break and she couldn't get enough. She pulled him in for another kiss.

"Bones." He mumbled against her mouth and as much as he wanted to keep kissing her, with all of these blankets in the way, it was almost as if there was an entire body between them. He pulled away after a great deal of effort.

Surely he wasn't having second thoughts about their second chance, was he? "What?"

"All the blankets, it's kind of keeping me from getting closer to you." And right now, all he could think about was pulling her as close as possible.

It was a perfectly logical observation and she immediately loosened her grip on him. "Yes, I can see what you mean. Not that I can actually see in this light, but the bedding is definitely impeding my ability to touch you." And touching as much of him as possible was her current goal.

Booth let out an involuntary groan at the thought of her touching him in places that he had only dreamed about and it sobered the moment for him. "Look, Bones, if we go forward here, then there's no looking back."

"No changies, no take backs?" In the dim light coming from the stove she could just make out his silhouette and she could almost feel the electricity sparking between them.

"I mean if you decide that you don't want to do this later, I can't go back to being just partners with you. I don't think I could handle it. You'd have to get another FBI agent to work with." There is was, his confession tumbled out of his mouth along with all of the worry and anxiety that he'd been carrying around with him. He waited for what seemed like an eternity before she answered.

"I don't want to go back." The evidence had swayed her, she was fully convinced and once she had been fully convinced that she was in love with Seeley Booth, there was no other option as far as she was concerned. Going forward was the only thing that made sense, both rationally and emotionally.

He flung his blankets off in and effort to get a little closer, only to find hers in the way, but that didn't stop him from leaning in and kissing her again. And then somewhere in the middle of kissing her, he found himself snuggled up close to her underneath her comforter and he couldn't help but smile against her lips at how much she wanted this too.

She mumbled against his mouth. "I know that you are far more traditional than I am." A long slow kiss and a fist tugging at his t-shirt to be able to slide her hands freely up his chest. "But I see no reason why we shouldn't engage in intercourse."

Leave it to her to be blunt, but at the moment, he wasn't sure he could argue with her reasoning, whatever it was. "New rule, no squinty talk in bed, okay." Small, tiny words were all he could process at the moment with her warm curvy body pressed up against his.

"Technically, we're not in bed. We're on the floor." Her hands had found his chest under that pesky t-shirt and she was very intent on getting it off of him as quickly as possible even as she fused her lips to his.

Just then a loud banging noise sounded at the front door of the cabin, startling the would be lovers apart and sending Booth scrambling for his lighter and the nearest lantern.

The muffled sound of Sheriff Benson's voice came through the door as the knock sounded again. "Agent Booth. Dr. Brennan. It's the Sheriff." He smiled as the door swung open to reveal Booth holding up the lantern.

"Sheriff." Booth didn't want to appear annoyed, given that the cabin belonged to the Sheriff and his wife, but his timing couldn't have been worse.

"Looks like the power _is_ out then." The Sheriff stepped inside and let Booth close the door. "My wife was afraid of that and she thought I ought to come on out and show you how to get the generator running, and she wanted me to put something on that window in the bedroom that won't keep blowing off so you won't freeze."

Brennan made her way over to where Booth and the Sheriff stood. "There's a generator?"

"Yup, had it hardwired since the power lines out here are a little touchy." The Sheriff opened a small panel in the wall near the front door and flipped a switch, bringing the lights back to life. And as they came back on, his amusement was clear as he took in the disheveled appearance of the partners and noticed the bedding on the floor near the wood stove. "Unless of course you two prefer the dark."


	7. Chapter 7

The Sheriff was gone, the power was on thanks to the generator, and the window in the bedroom was fixed a little more substantially than it had been before. The mood that had been decidedly on course for breaking into the stratosphere was no where close to that now. Awkwardness seemed to reign in the living room as Booth shut the door firmly behind the Sheriff and secured the lock. He turned to find Bones looking at him from across the room. She still looked a little mussed up and he felt a puff of pride that he was responsible for it, but his confidence had flagged with the untimely interruption.

"That was very considerate of him to come all the way out here in the storm to ensure that we didn't freeze to death, however unlikely that would be considering we have the benefit of a wood stove." Brennan was suddenly nervous that the events earlier might have been influenced by darkness and proximity as opposed to rational thinking and logical decisions even though her thoughts on the matter were neither rational nor logical.

"Yes, we certainly have plenty of wood to burn." He would have shoved his hands in his pockets if he had any pockets to shove them in, but his pajama pants weren't cooperating by spontaneously growing some so he rested his hands on his hips instead.

A silence stretched between them. It should have been comfortable, of all people, these two usually felt comfortable being silent together, but right now things just felt awkward as they both seemed to try and figure out what the other was thinking.

Brennan broke the silent stalemate. "We could play another game." Somehow it seemed like a very good idea to prolong whatever reason that he was surely going to come up with for them to sleep in separate locations. She felt her heart thudding wildly in her chest.

He studied her to see if she was going to backpedal on him and sensing that maybe what had happened earlier hadn't all been some hormone fueled mistake he took a tentative step towards her. "It's getting late, Bones. We should probably get some sleep. Sheriff Benson said that the forecasters think the snow should taper off by morning and then we'll be able to get back to the Jeffersonian and you can do your bone thing." And he knew how anxious she had been earlier to get back and examine the remains so that they could identify the victim and solve the case so he was sure she'd be just as anxious to get to sleep so they could get up early and go home.

She took a step towards him and then with all of her doubt and anxiety and hope tumbling around inside of her metaphoric heart, she looked him in the eye and made a decision. "Would we have time to get sufficient sleep _and_ engage in intercourse? Not necessarily in that order of course."

He was surprised and he let out a heavy sigh even as a smile played at the corners of his mouth and his eyes twinkled at her. "Bones, I know we both want this, but are we ready for it?" There was a lot to consider, a lot he had considered quite a while ago. They were treading into new territory and it scared the hell out of him and thrilled him all at the same time.

"If you're worried about contraceptives, I am fully prepared." She blinked at him. If that was all that was holding him back, the clearly the problem was solved and she took another step towards him.

"Uh, thanks, but that wasn't the ready that I was referring to." A hint of smirk tugged at his mouth as he held his ground wanting to be sure that they clarified what was going on here before they crossed that line which seemed to be rushing up at super sonic speed.

She took another step towards him. "If you are referring to the step of engaging in coitus together, I don't think we'll ever be completely ready. Sometimes you just have to jump in with both legs…you can't always be ready for something ahead of time. You taught me that." She looked at him expectantly hoping that he wouldn't reject her.

He snorted out a laugh. "It's jump in with both _feet_, Bones." His expression softened and he took a step towards her. "So you're suggesting that we have to jump in even if we think we may not be ready?" Thoughts of jumping into something else under a fig tree that ended up blowing up in his face months later filtered through his mind. But he had to remind himself that Hannah had been the good time girl and Bones was Bones and she had never said anything to him that she didn't mean.

"Yes, I _am_ suggesting that." She took another bold step towards him, finding that she was nearly touching him. "We both want it. We know what we're getting ourselves into. Wasn't it you who said that you knew that a love like ours would last for thirty, forty, or fifty years?"

He took one more step and his hands found their way to her shoulders. "Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?" He found that all of those doubts that he'd felt after she'd rejected him were gone. The braggadocios swagger that had been behind those words in the first place was firmly in place. _This_ woman was his destiny and as much as he had tried to argue that point in his own mind for the last year, all he could do in this moment was to bend to destiny's will and give in.

"Then prove to me that it's possible. I want to know that real love can last fifty years, Booth. I want to experience it." She looked at him earnestly, her heart hung out on her sleeve for him to see. He had been the one that had opened her up to real love and he was the only man she could imagine being with.

His eyes twinkled and his smile widened as he gathered her in his arms and pulled her close, never taking his eyes off of hers. "I'd like to do that, Bones." He thought maybe they'd missed their moment when he'd asked her to give them a chance on those stairs so many months ago, but he had been wrong. _This_ was their moment and there was no way they were going to miss out on it now.

"Good." She smiled back at him, her body relaxing against his as their breath mingled together. "I was a bit concerned that you were going to say no."

Booth didn't say a word, he simply pressed his lips against hers softly, making it very clear that on this topic, the word 'no' was off limits. All of that fire that had been building between them before they had been interrupted by the Sheriff suddenly sparked back to life and he found himself very gladly being pulled along insistently by a hand fisted in the front of his t-shirt, the intent very clear.


	8. Chapter 8

They had managed to get the lights out and their clothes off without anyone being seriously injured despite an unforeseen tumble over the back of the couch. For the briefest of moments, Booth had been concerned that the roof of the cabin might fall right in on top of them for all of the noise that they were creating by making up for lost time and missed opportunities. However, when it came to _that_ moment, the one that they'd been dreaming and hoping and longing for, it was explosively satisfying.

"I think my bones dissolved into jelly." Booth lay there unable to even twitch a muscle. He'd had his fair share of great sex in his life, but he was convinced that being with Bones deserved its own special category.

"That is scientifically impossible; however, I feel as if I am suffering from the same condition." The smile on her face would have lit up the room if _that_ were scientifically possible. She was even contemplating whether she should reconsider her skepticism that the unbreakable laws of physics could actually be shattered.

"We should sleep then." As much as he wanted to try and do that again, even his Super Special Agent skills were not powerful enough to make that happen, at least for a little while. Maybe they could just get by with a brief nap. A nap and then another trip to Euphoria sounded like just what the doctor ordered.

"Good idea as well as logical considering that our ability to participate in any other activity seems to be precluded by the post-coital bliss we are both experiencing." She closed her eyes and smiled. Any previous thoughts she had about Booth being a prude about sex were completely erased. The man definitely knew what he was doing and after years of working together it was just one more thing that seemed to synchronize naturally between them.

"And we do need to get up early to drive back to DC." Very logical reason for him not to jump Bones' bones again tonight. They had weather conditions to worry about and the Squints would probably be up at the crack of dawn if the weather abated peppering them with phone calls about what piece of evidence to start processing first. He needed to be well rested and fully alert to be on his game to drive back home in the morning. Of course if it continued snowing, being fully rested wouldn't actually be a necessity since they would have to delay driving back for another day.

"And we have a murder to solve. So sleep seems like a biological imperative that we shouldn't ignore." She knew that they needed to sleep, but her mind was convinced otherwise. Suddenly, tomorrow night seemed like a very long time into the future without much chance of actually being enjoyed for non-work things and so she reasoned that maybe they should wait for the Spring thaw to make their way back to DC. Surely the other Squints could get started, although Cam had mentioned that the weather had shut the city down, so they might have to delay the investigation anyway.

They lapsed into silence for a while, presumably in an attempt to give sleep a chance, which didn't last long at all.

Brennan's tone was impish. "I may have to rethink the wisdom of spending thirty or forty years with you." She was baiting him and she was delighted that he immediately fell for it since he couldn't see her expression in the dark.

"What?" He was of the opinion that he had just sent them right into the stratosphere and so this idea that she was having second thoughts now certainly put a big gaping hole in his ego. He stammered slightly as he tried to recover some semblance of his manly pride. "Why?"

"Well it's quite obvious that anything less than _fifty_ years would not give us enough time to both solve crimes and engage in highly satisfying sexual encounters." Her tone was ever so matter of fact even as she tried to keep from giggling.

He only missed a beat and then he had her pinned underneath him as his ability to move seemed to be restored. "Very funny, Bones." He leaned in to kiss her only to find her laughing against his mouth. He pulled back to see what was so funny. "What?"

"You called me Funny Bones, much like the way the humerus is popularly known as the funny bone even though it is actually the ulnar nerve which is responsible for the sensation." She stopped talking only because he snorted.

"No squinty talk in bed, Bones." He leaned in to kiss her again, but found his lips connecting with her hand instead of her lips. For a woman who seemed to possess a rather voracious appetite in the bedroom, she was certainly putting the brakes on.

"I was simply trying to be informative." She shifted her weight and found that she had enough leverage to roll them over so that she could lay across his chest.

"Wasn't exactly what I had in mind for sex education, Bones." He took advantage of her just laying there to run his hands up her back and tangle in her hair so that he could bring her back in for a kiss. It wasn't everyday that you got snowed in with the sexiest woman on the planet and he planned to enjoy it as much as possible.

"Oh, really, what did you have in mind then?" Her smirk was evident in her voice. "I'm sure that the bookshelf holds a number of volumes on the topic." In fact she was quite sure that she'd seen an entire shelf devoted to books like the one she had found earlier that had implied playing Twister could be a good way to boost your sex life.

"Nah, not really interested in reading any books either." He pulled her in a little closer until he could feel her breath fanning out across his face.

"Well it _is_ dark with the lights out, so logically, reading would be difficult unless they were available on a Kindle." She wriggled around a little trying to get more comfortable. "Although I do recall reading about the mating habits of the Pokaluatiaunica tribe of southern Urawatu. I could enlighten you if you like."

"Less lecture, more hands on learning." His lips finally found purchase on hers and gave himself over to the sensation of kissing her. He was more than content to go at a nice leisurely pace and become a little better acquainted with every inch of her as slowly as possible.

Brennan seemed to have other ideas. Apparently, zipping into outer orbit once wasn't enough and before long, the roof seemed to be in danger of falling for a second time.


	9. Chapter 9

It was the silence that pulled Booth out of a deep sleep. As he blinked his eyes open in the early predawn light that was filtering in through the window, the only discernible sound in the cabin were the soft snores of his partner lying next to him. It seemed that the wind at least had stopped and it was entirely possible that the Sheriff's information about the weather clearing was right on target. He let out a sigh and slipped out from under the covers, donning some of the clothes he had so eagerly shed before as he made his way over to the window to assess the weather situation.

"Damn." His voice was louder than he'd intended for it to be.

"What?" Brennan rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and turned her attention to where her bedmate had escaped. "Why are you up?" Truth be told, she had been looking forward to waking up next to him.

"It stopped snowing." He was frowning as he made his way back over to where she was still laying.

She wrinkled her nose. "Oh." That of course meant that there was probably no rational reason to _not_ head back to DC as soon as they could make themselves ready. They were here for work after all and they owed it to their victim to get to the case as quickly as possible so that justice could be properly meted out.

Silence spread between them for a moment as they just looked at each other. Booth rested his hands on his hips. "We should probably head back." What he really wanted to do was crawl right back into the pile of blankets with her and try and make them both boneless again.

She propped herself up on one elbow, not making any pretense about openly studying his features. "I suppose given the weather conditions that it would be out of the question to ask you to stay like that for the drive home." She had always known that she found him pleasing to look at, but after last night, she had a whole new appreciation for the view that was Seeley Booth.

He snorted out a laugh and puffed his chest up a little. "Like what you see, huh, Bones?" He was appreciating the view of her before him as well, even if most of it was all covered up under a nice homey quilt.

"I do." She smirked. "That should be abundantly obvious after last night."

"Yes, you were rather enthusiastic." He smirked back. Any awkwardness that he'd been afraid might surface in the light of day never appeared, it was if they had naturally shifted into this new phase of their relationship and nothing else had really changed.

"As I recall, I wasn't the only one." Her protest was muffled by one very sexy FBI agent who just couldn't help himself.

* * *

The drive back had been fairly uneventful, save for the furtive glances and the blatant handholding. Neither one of them seemed to be able to wipe the grins off of their faces. By the time they arrived back at the Jeffersonian, it was a minor miracle that Booth didn't just jump her in the back of the Sequoia after they'd pulled into the parking structure.

Even though he had his own part of the investigation to get to, he followed right along after her, all the way to her office, taking note that far more people than he'd expected were in given the weather that had just blown through.

As they stepped into her office, Brennan couldn't resist tugging him towards her by the edge of his jacket. "You know the sooner we wrap up this case, the sooner we can resume our extracurricular activities." She looked up into his eyes to find that they were twinkling at her.

"Then I should go do my FBI stuff so that you can do your lab stuff." All the specifics that he might normally go into seemed unimportant as he leaned in and kissed her, workplace be damned.

She eagerly reciprocated, letting her arms drift over his shoulders as she felt his tighten around her waist and pull her close. They lingered like that until it was obvious that they were no longer alone.

"O-kaay. Apparently, this isn't a good time." Cam didn't even try to conceal the delighted smirk that played across her lips.

"Uh, no, now is fine." Brennan smiled at the other woman and grabbed for her partner's arm as he stepped away to keep him from leaving just yet.

"I just wanted to let you know the results of our preliminary examination so you could begin yours, Dr. Brennan." Cam paused momentarily as she glanced from one partner to the other. "When you're ready of course." The implication was there that what she had walked in on was long overdue and she wasn't going to be the one to break it up. At least right away.

"I was just going." Booth smirked at Cam and then turned his attention back to his partner. "I'll call you later, Bones." There was no way he was not going to see her after they wrapped up their day, even if it meant he had to go all cave man on her and drag her from the lab by tossing her over his shoulder.

"Okay." Brennan's smiled widened as she watched him turn and leave, admiring his retreating form just because she could.

After a long moment Cam cleared her throat. "So you and Seeley huh?" Not that she needed any confirmation after the display she'd walked in on.

Brennan glanced over with a very please smile. "Yes, Booth and I have decided to embark upon a monogamous emotional and sexual relationship, which given the oddly overt curiosity that all of you have had about our relationship status shouldn't really surprise you."

* * *

His arms encircled her waist from behind as she dished the contents of the takeout cartons onto two plates. "That was very good work of you, Bones, to figure out that our victim was a suicide and not a homicide." Without a murder to solve, there was no reason to continue investigating a case that wasn't.

A smile pulled at her lips when he started to pepper kisses against her neck. "Unless you want to run the risk of spilling Thai chili sauce on your man parts, I would suggest that you keep your hands to yourself until we finish eating."

"Man parts?" Booth stepped away in mock shock. "What happened to my squinty Bones?"

She rolled her eyes and turned and handed him both plates before grabbing the necks of two beers. Heading towards the couch in the living room. "I've learned that it's best to use small words when you're in a heightened state of arousal. Words like penis and testicles require stringing together a few more words. 'Man parts' seemed to sum things up nicely." There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

He followed her, enjoying the opportunity to ogle her. "I see." As they sat, he made a very obvious glance at he features. "Well, I wouldn't want to injure any of my man parts, especially since they are very fond of your lady parts." He shoveled in a nice big bite of food and started munching.

"I am aware." She slipped a forkful into her mouth and savored the taste of one of her favorite dishes and stared at him openly. After a few minutes of eating, she set her plate down on the coffee table. "I think this food could be warmed up, don't you?"

"Mine's just fine." He took another bite and began to chew when he felt her hand on his bare thigh. He glanced up to find a predatory look in her eyes and nearly snorted a noodle out his nose. "Oh."

She took the plate out of his hand and set it on the coffee table while he took a nice long swig of his beer. "The microwave will heat it up very quickly."

He set the beer down and looked directly in her eyes. "For the third time tonight." Not that he was complaining or anything, but he did need to keep his stamina up at the rate they were going.

"Well it's very distracting watching you eat in while you're in your underwear." It was very logical after all. Any woman with eyes would understand her quandary.

He snorted as he regarded what she was wearing. "Well the same could be said for you." A camisole and panties did not an outfit for dining make, although, he was certainly enjoying the view.

"We wouldn't even have to leave the couch." She looked at him hopefully.

He couldn't argue with her logic. With that he gently tackled her and shut her up with a kiss as he pulled the afghan from the back of the couch over them.

_**The End**_


End file.
